A New Tiara for Sophie

Many eagle eyes noticed that Sophie, Countess of Wessex was wearing a tiara that we had never seen her wear publicly before to the royal wedding in Luxembourg over the weekend. Hurray for Sophie getting some more jewel choices!

Here’s a good look at the tiara, which perched very nicely on Sophie’s head:

It turns out we discussed this very piece in a previous post by guest Royal Poster Sarah Taylor. Click here for a refresher. This tiara is from the Queen’s collection and is made up of diamonds and Brazilian aquamarines.

The Queen has not worn this tiara much at all – at least not publicly. Here is one of the few photographs available of the Queen wearing it:

The Queen was gifted this tiara from the Governor of Sao Paulo during a visit in 1968. There was some speculation that this tiara was taken apart to make up the Queen’s larger aquamarine tiara, so it is good to see that that was not the case after all!

Here’s that larger aquamarine tiara:

So how does this whole borrowing thing work, do you think? The Queen one day decides it’s time to dust off the jewel box and share? Or does Sophie ask before a big event like this? Or maybe this tiara was an extended loan from the Queen in recognition of Sophie and Edward’s tenth wedding anniversary? I am most curious about this.

Ok, let’s recap Sophie’s tiara collection so far.

1. Sophie’s Wedding Tiara

She of course has the tiara she wore to her own wedding in 1999, which had not been seen publicly before that day. It seems it is a piece made up of existing jewels in the royal collection. The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendour has a great post on it. Click here for that. This is the only tiara that Sophie seems to have had access to for the first few years after her wedding.

Here she is with it for the occasion of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s wedding in 2010. Sophie is also wearing the same diamond necklace we saw this past weekend, which is also likely a loan from the Queen:

2. The Button Tiara

Sophie has also been loaned this button tiara, which she wore to a pre-wedding theatre event for the wedding of Prince Frederick of Denmark and Mary Donaldson in May 2004:

It is believed to be this tiara, which was owned by Prince Philip’s mother Princess Alice of Greece:

It seems especially fitting that Sophie should wear it since she and Edward will be Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh when the time comes. Curious that it has not made another public appearance since. I quite like it.

3. The Aquamarine and Diamond Tiara

Then of course there’s the aquamarine and diamond tiara which we went into in a previous post. Read all about it here. Much like Sophie’s wedding tiara, unfortunately not much is known about this tiara’s provenance. Fun fact: this tiara converts into a necklace so it can be worn for non-tiara events, too.

Check out the matching necklace and earrings she’s wearing in this photo. They appear to be the same as what Sophie wore with the button tiara in 2004.

4. The Brazilian Aquamarine & Diamond Tiara

And then of course there’s this ‘new’ one, which I must say I prefer over Sophie’s other aquamarine tiara.

10 replies

I love this tiara that Sophie is wearing, so exciting to see her in a new (to her) tiara from Queen Elizabeth’s tiara collection! I agree that this aquamarine tiara looks great on her, I prefer it to the aquamarine bandeau tiara. I think it looks really lovely next to her blonde hair. I hope Sophie wears this tiara again!

I think I prefer them smaller and understated vs. large and ‘in-your-face’… More ladylike and delicate this way.
Regarding pic of Queen: Tiara and necklace too big for my taste – and what they must weigh!! Do you ever think we’ll see Kate ‘decked out’ in an ensemble like this? I hope not for I’ve come to like her ‘less is more’ attitude of dressing.

I think Sophie looks great in both of her aquamarine tiaras. She seems to attend all the weddings to represent the British Royal Family so should have access to more jewells in the vaults. The Countess looked beautiful at both of the functions in Luxembourg.

I completely agree. If Sophie is to represent the British royal family at so many events, then she should be allowed to have access to more of the queen’s tiaras. I thought Sophie was ravishing at the wedding.

Sophie strikes me as a rather more down-to-earth woman, with a more classic, understated style. Much unlike a much more recent, late coming “royal” wannabe who seems to gravitate to the biggest, blingiest, in-your-face, “look at me” type tiaras the Royal collection has to offer.
It’s entirely possible that Sophie has access to whatever she would like, within reasonable limits, of course, but simply isn’t all up in that bling-factory look. Maybe what she has it all she wants?
I think the aquamarines in this tiara suit her complexion, hair coloring, and make her beautiful blue eyes just sparkle and pop! It will certainly be interesting to see what else she decides to wear over the years.
And in spite of all of the wedding glamour that has been played up so much in other royal brides in the last few decades, I think I like her look the best, with the pearl trimming on the matching gown and coat. But I think her original tiara looks a bit like it was cobbled together from pieces of other jewelry somehow. There’s just something about it that says that to me when I look at it.
She’s a class act, and I hope she always remains true to herself.